


The Promise

by StrayLupum



Series: Writober 2020 [AFK Arena] [1]
Category: AFK Arena (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Character Death, Dark, Death, Feelings Realization, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Past, Prompt Fic, Undead, Writober 2020, but death doesnt rly matter in this world right, not obvious comfort, welp no comfort is dubious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26748922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrayLupum/pseuds/StrayLupum
Summary: His forgiveness was cold like the lips of a deadman, like the kiss of the Abomination.
Relationships: Baden Rayne & Thane, Baden Rayne/Thane
Series: Writober 2020 [AFK Arena] [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947646
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	The Promise

**Author's Note:**

> I've never participated in writober, so this is going to be my first time.  
> For this event I've created my own promtp list, you can check it out here: https://twitter.com/nymph_sidora/status/1310614740310413313?s=20
> 
> I love AFK Arena a lot, and I had an idea of creating series of works dedicated to this beautiful game. Hope you like it ^^  
> Not sure if I can survive and write all those 31 prompts, but the point is to have fun, right? :3
> 
> The first prompt is 'Thane & Baden'

The wood kept its silence like every sound was indeed a sacred treasure, and the intruder didn’t deserve his right to listen. Forests were never Thane’s passion, neither he preferred desserts and wastelands. His choice was civilization, the world of humanity fighting for their right to live here, amidst the unfriendly realm of eternal wars.

They tried to be tolerant. Tried to put the end to those wars tearing their world apart. Maulers, those barbarians, they didn’t even want to hear anything about peace. Their culture was based on the bloodshed, wild animals! It’s a miracle they could produce a normal speech and use their intelligence. For Dura’s sake! Why did she gift them the light of the mind at all!

Wilders, despite their eternal hate towards the Maulers, had almost no difference from those barbaric tribes. Though Wilders always spoke about union with nature, they forgot that Maulers were close to nature too and could also use elemental magic, just like Wilders did.

The only Wilder feature Thane paid some respect to was their negative attitude to violence. They always tried to escape any collisions, though their powers could cause a disaster of unimaginable scale.

“Thane.” A whisper consisting of a thousand voices interrupted his silent watching of the forest deep.

...and the Graveborns.

“Baden.” Thane stepped forward to look into dead green eyes and inhale the sweet scent of the corpse. “I didn’t hope you’d come.”

Graveborns were never born in the grave. None of them. They were raised, their death was cancelled, their bodies came under the dark blessing of Annih and his servants, the necromancers. Those poor creatures with souls corrupted and perverted, how didn’t they see what a curse fell on their destiny!

And Baden… Once Rayne, he remained Rayne.

He defeated the necromancer who enslaved his soul and even his body for a while. Baden tried and succeeded in the exorcism ritual though it was dangerous for himself. With Thane’s help, now Baden was free of any other will except his own.

“I am here.”

Those multiple sounds his voice consisted of never left Baden now. It was frightening, it was unnatural, but the best swordsman of Rayne house didn’t worry about it. He was not disgusted, nor was he bothered since his best friend, his beloved brother-in-arms, battle brother was still… Kind of alive.

“How are you?” Thane made one more step closer, the scent became stronger, and even in the dark he could see all those scratches and canyons of battle marks on Baden’s jaw protector. “I worried. I was afraid I wouldn’t see you anymore.”

The dead-green spear sank into the cold wet soil, and the only hand of the undead touched the thick pale cheel of the swordsman. Baden’s fingers felt just like late autumn forest air: cold and indifferent, never feeling and dead.

“Why were you afraid?”

Why?

WHY?

Thane’s count of how many times he lost Baden broke down. Time after time, day after day he had been listening to the news fly above the whole world. About the new war, the new demonic portal opened for demons to enslave and destroy Thane’s world. And he knew Baden was always there, on the frontline as he used to do, as his nature ordered him.

Yes, Baden didn’t possess the hubris of Thane, but if to look back… It was Thane who stayed alive. Not Baden who had always been more cautious, more careful. Not Baden who..

“You need a reason? Then… You are my brother, Baden. You’ve always been. You’re more to me than my life is, and if I could turn the time back...”

“A brother?”

Voices sounded confused, disappointed.

Thane forgot his thoughts, his own words. What happened? He said something and offended Baden?

“I never considered you as my brother.” Baden lowered his voices and leaned forward to touch Thane’s forehead with his cold as stone. “Every time we got to the battlefields, you felt just a joy of being with a man-in-arms? Just the joy of a warrior fighting side by side with his soldiers? Then I came here to kill your light memories as for now I am the one who can only kill the light, Thane. I am the Abomination, and they’re right to call me that.”

Baden pushed him off and made a step back. His eyes - the normal and the giant one at the center of his bandaged chest - erupted the green fire, burning with the cold breath of death itself. Necrotic flames, a dark blessing from Annih.

“I’ve been watching you, Thane, since we both were young. I loved you with all the power a man’s heart could love!” Baden took his spear out of the soil and stretched his hand, pointing at the confused swordsman. “I was the happiest in the world when I got to your squad! I was happy to see you every day, to train with you, to touch you! And I knew you would never accept the feeling one man had...”

“Baden...”

“It was me! I pushed you back when you were to die on that day! I died because I saved you! And you’ve just lost your fucking precious hand you’ve never been in need of!”

That day…

Oh, no.

Oh, saint Dura, how did you let that happen? Thane prayed and prayed a lot, as a true believer must pray. He asked their goddess to save his brother, - even though he didn’t share his blood - to save Baden.

How could that happen?

“If you’re angry for that, then I beg for your pardon, Baden.” Ignoring the spear, Thane shifted to reduce the distance between them. And he knew it was impossible, even when they were standing nose to nose, they were too far from each other. “I am a fool, a blind fool. And I was a fool.”

Sending a cascade of cold whispers, the blade of the spear pressed to Thane’s neck. 

Dura left him.

She was deaf to his prayers, and he was blind to his dearest person.

The goddess was not going to fix her mistakes, but Thane was able to fix his own.

If Dura’s light left him or even never was by his side, then Thane had nothing to lose. If it was his revelation, if all those years he was living in the darkness without realizing it… Then, his time had come.

“Don’t come closer!”

“That’s alright, Baden.” Thane stretched his hand to reach the jaw protector and pull it down. Baden’s lower part of the face wasn’t hidden by the bandages just like the rest of his face. He looked…as he used to when he was a mortal, a human. A straight nose, thin lips pressed together in a line. Sharp cheekbones. It was _his_ Baden. After all those years. But Thane never let this knowledge come to his mind. “Is there a chance you can accept my apologies? If yes, then take me to your darkness and never let any flame give us a hope. May there never be a light to betray us, to deceive us. Take me to the abyss, Baden, for I am ready to be judged by you. I was blind, and now you opened my eyes. And I see no fear.”

As Rayne’s blood spilt on the earth, as the last words of the curse were spoken, the green light embraced their entwined bodies.

“I forgive you, Thane.”

His forgiveness was cold like the lips of a deadman, like the kiss of the Abomination.


End file.
